Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Food Supply

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will seek legal advice on the potential implications for his policies of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee’s report entitled Famine Review Committee: Gaza Strip, March 2024 – Conclusions and Recommendations, published on 18 March 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is also doing all it can to get as much food into Gaza as possible. We recently announced that more than 2,000 tonnes of UK-funded food aid are being distributed by the World Food Programme on the ground. This is our largest delivery of aid to Gaza in this crisis. This follows 750 tonnes of UK funded food aid arriving in Gaza in December, delivered through the World Food Programme and a second delivery of 315 tonnes in January.We and our partners are stepping up efforts to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza, including scaling up the Jordan corridor, opening a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), fully opening Ashdod Port for aid delivery and increasing screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.

Israel: Hamas

Sir Michael Ellis: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent Hamas rocket fire into Israel.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As the Government has stated previously, for there to be a lasting peace Israel's security must be assured. Removing Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel and Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza are among the vital elements for a lasting peace.We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. This is the focus of all our diplomatic efforts.

Armed Conflict: International Law

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what the priority areas of work are for the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell in his Department.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ministers regularly review advice about Israel's adherence to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and act in accordance with that advice. The Foreign Secretary has been clear that Israel is the occupying power, it is responsible and that has consequences, including when we look at if Israel is compliant with international humanitarian law. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected and civilians to be protected.

Armed Conflict: International Law

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what (a) staff and (b) legal resources have been committed to the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell in his Department.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO currently has a small bespoke capability, including legal resources, to look specifically at international humanitarian law issues in the context of the Israel/Gaza conflict. This is part of a larger team in the UK and across our overseas network actively delivering the Government's goals of ending the conflict and reaching a lasting peace.

Nature Conservation: Finance

Steve Reed: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 18175 on Nature Conservation: Finance, if he will publish a detailed breakdown of how the budget for climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity was spent in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Later this year we will publish a detailed breakdown of all International Climate Programme spend, including those that protect and restore nature and biodiversity, through the UK's first Biennial Transparency Report under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will cover calendar years 2021 and 2022. Future years spending will be published in future Biennial Transparency Reports.

Armed Conflict: International Law

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish the findings of each assessment by the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell in his Department of Israel’s compliance with such law.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Legal advice to Ministers and policy assessments related to it are confidential. We therefore do not publish the International Humanitarian Law Cell's assessments of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). It is for Ministers to decide what to say publicly about each assessment.

Developing Countries: Solar Power

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment has spent on increasing the capacity of solar photovoltaic manufacturing.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) is a G7 initiative. The G7 plan to report in 2025 on amounts invested and mobilised. The UK is on track to meet our up to $40 billion contribution to the $600 billion target through our British Investment Partnerships work, which is supporting numerous renewable energy initiatives. In 2022, we improved access to clean energy for over 6 million people. Our investments include: $69 million by the Private Infrastructure Development Group; support by British International Investment to a $36 million solar PV storage plant in Mozambique; eight solar projects through Manufacturing Africa unlocking £26.7 million, and £6 million through the Transforming Energy Access platform.

International Waters: Marine Protected Areas

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he has taken with his international counterparts to create marine protected areas in the high seas in preparation for ratifying the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK will continue to be proactive in preparing for implementation and entry into force and will work with international partners and stakeholders to identify potential areas for High Seas Marine Protected Areas. The UK is also funding a project to develop a shortlist of potential area-based management tools that could be developed into future proposals once the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement comes into force.

Armed Conflict: International Law

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has previously established a country-specific cell similar to the International Humanitarian Law Compliance Assessment Process Cell.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Cell's approach to assessment of IHL compliance by Israel is informed by a methodology adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office following a request by the Campaign Against Arms Trade in 2017 for a judicial review of export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia during the conflict in Yemen.I refer the honourable member for Hodge Hill to the then Secretary of State for International Trade's statement of 7 July 2020 following the High Court judgment on military export licences to Saudi Arabia [Volume 678:Column 32-34WS].

Israel: Arms Trade

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether there are pending applications for arms export licences for arms to Israel.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.The most recent Official Statistics cover the period 1 April - 30 June 2023. Information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 July - 30 September 2023 will be published after April 2024 and information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 October - 31 March 2024 will be published later this year.

Gaza: Israel

Sir Michael Ellis: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the analysis of casualty figures in Gaza by the Professor of Statistics and Data Science at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, published on 7 March 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Like many of our partners, we routinely use reports from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to monitor daily figures for casualties in Gaza. OCHA rely on reporting from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. Casualty figures are only one data point of many we use to understand the scale of the conflict and its impact on civilians. Satellite imagery of building damage, eye-witness accounts from hospitals and data on living conditions all feed into our assessment.

Gaza: Israel

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has sought recent legal advice on the Israeli government's compliance with (a) international law and (b) the International Court of Justice’s decision in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) in the context of trends in the level of food insecurity in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law. We act in accordance with that advice. We are clear that as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel has to make sure that humanitarian aid including food, water and shelter is available to people in Gaza.

British Nationals Abroad: Sexual Offences

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of trends in the number of British citizens who have reported being victims of sex crimes in foreign countries over the last five years; and what support his Department provides to those people (a) in situ and (b) on their return to the UK.

David Rutley: FCDO data for the past five years on the number of rape and sexual assault cases where consular assistance was provided to British nationals is presented in the table below.The FCDO takes all reports of rape and sexual assault seriously. Consular staff are available to provide immediate support by telephone 24/7 and will try to see a victim to provide in person assistance as soon as possible, depending on location and timing. The FCDO's public guide "Support for British National Abroad" outlines the support available, including through organisations funded by FCDO to support victims on their return to the UK, where the FCDO can continue to support victims in relation to any ongoing investigation abroad.Calendar YearNumber of Rape and Sexual Assault Cases where consular assistance was provided to British nationals (Total)20193652020137202113820223432023388** Figures from 16 October 2023 are subject to a different reporting methodology due to a change in case management system.

Darfur: Sexual Offences

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department provides for the survivors of rape and sexual abuse by Arab militias in West Darfur.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, there has been a significant escalation of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sudan. The UK has pivoted our programme delivery to focus on GBV prevention, and protection and care for rape survivors. We have also integrated specific measures to address conflict-related sexual violence into the humanitarian system, making use of Women's Centres, mobile clinics and internally displaced person's gathering points, for community engagement and service provision. In 2023, over 83,399 consultation providing sexual and reproductive health services were delivered, over 104,225 people were given mental health and psychological support, and over 9,000 people benefitted from risk mitigation and response services.

UNRWA: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of his Department's aid to Gaza is channelled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Mr Andrew Mitchell: UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was disbursed before the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the appalling 7 October terror attack against Israel came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.The UK provided £16 million this financial year to UNRWA's Flash Appeal in response to the Gaza Crisis, which constitutes 22% of the UK's total humanitarian allocations to Gaza. Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has had no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We are doing everything we can to get more aid into Gaza as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, working with partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

UNRWA: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of UK aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is spent on (a) food, (b) medicines, (c) other essentials, (d) salaries and (e) other costs for (i) UNRWA personnel and (ii) other employees.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was disbursed before the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the appalling 7 October terror attack against Israel came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.We provided £19 million of unearmarked funding this financial year to UNRWA's programme budget. This enabled UNRWA to deliver education, health, relief and social services and protection to 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The UK also provided £16 million to UNRWA's Flash Appeal in response to the Gaza Crisis, supporting UNRWA to deliver humanitarian assistance, food, shelter, and non-food items for refugees in Gaza.Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response.Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands and we are supporting partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

Home Office

Migrant Workers: Domestic Service

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the conclusions of the Independent Review of the Overseas Domestic Workers Visa by James Ewins, published on 16 December 2015, relating to protection of employment rights of migrant workers in private households, if he will (a) review and (b) reverse changes to the rules for that visa.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department last reviewed the potential risk of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers under the overseas domestic worker visa rules.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Independent Review the Overseas Domestic Workers Visa by James Ewins, published on 16 December 2015, what the Government's policy is on the implementation of proposed changes in that review to the overseas domestic worker visa rules that have not yet been implemented.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office keeps immigration route policy under review, including that for the Overseas Domestic Worker route. We have introduced a number of reforms to the route for overseas domestic workers since 2015; designed to build on existing safeguards and in line with the broader immigration system. Employers of overseas domestic workers must act in accordance with UK employment law, and workers who find themselves a victim of modern slavery are protected by the National Referral Mechanism and may be eligible to apply for permission to stay as a domestic worker who is a victim of modern slavery.

Crime: Children

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many crimes were committed by children under the age of 10 in England in (a) 2018 and (b) 2023.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the investigative outcomes of crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes the number of cases that were closed due to offender being below the age of criminal responsibility. This is recorded in the official statistics as outcome 11 “prosecution prevented: suspect under age” and the latest data can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThis will not cover all offences committed by children under 10, as the Home Office recorded crime collection does not include all summary only offences, that is those that can only be dealt with at Magistrates Courts.

Knives: Crime

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the charge rate for knife crime offences was in England in (a) 2018 and (b) 2023.

Chris Philp: Overall levels of violent crime experienced by the general population are down by 51% since 2010, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Levels of serious youth violence, as measured by the number of under-25 hospital admissions following an assault with a knife or other bladed instrument, are down by 25% in England and Wales compared with the year ending 2019. The Home Office collects and publishes data on the investigative outcomes of crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. These data can be found in the Home Office Open Data Tables, available here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Police: Retirement

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when retired police officers subject to immediate detriment will be contacted with the resolution.

Chris Philp: The relevant legislation provides that all eligible members of the police pension scheme will be given a choice to remedy the discrimination set out in the McCloud judgment and that information should be provided to eligible members by 1 April 2025.Adjustments to individual members’ benefits are an administrative matter, and the police pension scheme is locally administered by each of the separate police forces in England and Wales. The Home Office does not hold information on administrative processes in forces.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to ensure that drivers are aware of the introduction of new ultra speed cameras.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department had discussions with (a) road safety groups and (b) the public prior to the (i) approval and (ii) rollout of VECTOR-SR cameras.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the VECTOR-SR speed cameras are (a) visible to road users and (b) compliant with regulations.

Chris Philp: The Government’s Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process oversees the accuracy and reliability of vehicle speed measurement devices to ensure they meet the specified requirements. It is up to the traffic authority, the police and other agencies to decide whether to install speed cameras and how they wish to operate them. This is a local decision in which the Department does not become involved.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Migration Advisory Committee’s Rapid review of the Immigration Salary List, published on 23 February 2024, for what reason his Department has not implemented the recommendation on the use of the Immigration Salary List beyond the skilled worker route for asylum seekers.

Tom Pursglove: Replacing the Shortage Occupation List with the new Immigration Salary List will maintain the important principles that underpin our approach to permission to work and is in line with wider changes to the Immigration Rules. Unrestricted access to employment could act as an incentive for more migrants to choose to come here illegally, with many making dangerous journeys across the Channel and supporting the business model of evil people smugglers, rather than claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. The Government considers it important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Aligning asylum seekers’ permission to work with the Skilled Worker route could undermine the legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK.

Asylum: Age Assurance

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of young asylum seekers have been identified as being over the age of 18 following (a) age verification and (b) identity checks in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications by age is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to 2023.Data on age disputes is published in table Asy_D05 of the ‘Age disputes detailed dataset’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2023.Information on how to use these datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum applications by age and age disputes.Please note that an age dispute could, for example, be resolved following: a Merton compliant age assessment; receipt of credible and clear documentary evidence of age; a judicial finding on age; following a determination by two Home Office officers that the person’s physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests they are significantly over the age of 18; or, where the reasons for raising an age dispute no longer apply.

Delivery Services: Undocumented Migrants

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to regulate the use of rented profiles on food delivery apps.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has had discussions with representatives of food delivery companies on the use of rented profiles on food delivery apps.

Michael Tomlinson: The Government is engaging constructively with food delivery platforms, calling on them to end the use of unverified substitution. Unchecked account sharing places the public at risk, enables – and therefore encourages – illegal migration and leads to the exploitation of workers. In November 2023, the Home Office secured agreement from the firms to strengthen their recruitment and on-boarding processes, in order to prevent unchecked sharing of accounts.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/food-delivery-companies-urged-to-end-unchecked-account-sharing.

Visas: Graduates

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK Visa and Immigration is meeting the eight-week service standard for processing graduate visas.

Tom Pursglove: We are operating within the eight-week service standard for Graduate applications.Some applications may take longer if we have requested further information, or if their personal circumstances are complex. Further details can be found at Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

British National (Overseas): Airports

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will set a target date for British National (Overseas) passport holders to be able to use eGates at the UK border.

Tom Pursglove: The Government regularly reviews eGate eligibility for all nationals arriving in the UK, including British National (Overseas) passport holders.In the New Plan for Immigration, the Government set out our ambition to digitise the border. To deliver this we aim to increase the use of eGates at the border by those currently eligible and investigate options to extend eGate eligibility to those unable to use them. Any shorter-term changes need to be balanced against the impact these have on delivering the longer-term ambition.

Women and Equalities

LGBT+ People: Health

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting the wellbeing of gay, lesbian and bisexual young people.

Stuart Andrew: Equality Hub Ministers regularly engage with their counterparts across Government on matters relating to LGB equality. This is because this Government is committed to improving the health and well-being of young people and we recognise that gay, lesbian and bisexual young people often face specific challenges.This is why spending for children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23.A further £3 million of funding has also been divided between five anti-bullying organisations to tackle bullying in schools. This includes projects that target homophobic and biphobic hate-related bullying.In October 2022, we launched a Victim Support Service for anyone affected by or at risk of conversion practices, regardless of their sexual orientation, sex or transgender identity. The helpline can provide a safe, confidential listening and information service to anyone over the age of 13.

Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendation on ethnicity pay gap reporting in paragraph 35 of the guide entitled Considering Social Factors in Pension Scheme Investments, published by Taskforce on Social Factors in October 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The Government published guidance in April 2023 which sets out how employers can measure, report on, and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. This was an action from our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022.We have no plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Instead, we want to encourage and support those employers who want to use ethnicity pay reporting to improve transparency and build trust among their employees.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Written Questions

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 17725 on Academic Freedom tabled by the hon. Member for Sheffield Central on 8 March 2024.

David Johnston: A response was published to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central to Question 17725 on 21st March 2024.

Adoption

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing a formal apology to unmarried women and their children who were forcibly separated between 1949 and 1976.

David Johnston: The government agreed that the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) raised some important issues regarding historical adoption practices. Whilst a formal apology has not been issued, as the government did not actively support these practices, the government has publicly said sorry on behalf of society to all those affected by these practices during this period.As the government response said at the time, successive governments have made significant changes to adoption legislation and practice to ensure that the practices reported are never repeated.Furthermore, following the JCHR report, the department has already amended regulations to make it easier for adults to access adoption support. In addition, the department has written to local authorities, encouraging them to retain historical adoption records for 100 years instead of 75, to make access to records easier, and asking them to support access without undue delay to such records.

Schools: Medical Equipment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of schools that have purchased adrenaline auto-injector devices for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis since the coming into force of the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

David Johnston: From 1 October 2017, the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 allowed all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis, but where their own device is not available or not working (for example, because it is broken, or out-of-date). The department does not hold data on the number of schools that have purchased AAI devices.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Boxall profile measurement tool to help measure the social emotional mental health and wellbeing of school pupils.

David Johnston: The department is committed to ensuring schools are safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote and support mental health and wellbeing.Measuring pupil wellbeing can help schools to identify need and monitor the impact of policies and interventions, which is one of the core principles of the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing recommended by the department. The department is offering every school and college a grant to train a senior mental health lead who can oversee this approach and has recently commissioned a Mental health lead resource hub which has a variety of relevant measurement tools, including the Boxall profile. More information can be found at: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.As set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department is also developing practitioner standards for frontline education staff, setting out the best available evidence of what works for identifying and supporting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs, including social, emotional and mental health, across early years, schools and post-16 education.

Childcare: Greater London

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing the provision of school-aged childcare facilities for parents with young children in London.

David Johnston: The government is investing £289 million in a new wraparound childcare programme. This programme is to support local authorities in London and throughout England to work with primary schools and private providers to set up and deliver more wraparound childcare before and after school in the term time. The government’s ambition is for all parents of primary school children who need it to be able to access childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm by September 2026. In October 2023, the department published guidance for local authorities on their role to support the expansion of wrapround childcare along with local authority funding allocations. In February 2024, the department also published guidance for schools and trust setting out expectations of schools in the delivery of wraparound provision. From April 2024, Bi-borough, consisting of the local authorities of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea, will be rolling out expanded wraparound provision, five months ahead of the national programme launch in September, meaning that some parents in London will have access to childcare sooner. Along with three other local authority areas, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire and Norfolk, these early adopters form part of a test and learn phase to strengthen the delivery of the full rollout. This year, the department has again provided over £200 million for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Since 2022, the HAF programme has provided 10.7 million HAF days to children and young people in this country. The expansion of the programme year on year has meant a total of 5.4 million HAF days provided between Christmas 2022 and Easter and summer 2023. The department is working to ensure that the creation of new or expanded wraparound childcare provision can also help to support the delivery of sustainable holiday childcare provision, wherever possible.

Foster Care: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

David Johnston: Lincolnshire County Council is participating in the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder, which came out of the department’s children’s social care implementation strategy Stable Homes, Built on Love. The pathfinder aims to rebalance children’s social care away from costly crisis intervention to more meaningful and effective early support. As part of the pathfinder, the department is working with a select number of local areas to test significant changes to how local areas help children and young people. This includes increasing support at the earlier end of the system, with the aim of keeping children with birth parents or wider family where safe to do so. This will help to reduce the number of children looked after and therefore drive down demand for foster care or other placements. There is support available from the department where children are unable to stay with their birth families and foster care placements are sought. Lincolnshire County Council are being supported by the Fosterlink support service. Fosterlink provides support for local authorities to improve the way they recruit foster carers by reviewing current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements, as well as creating a national network in which to share best practice. More broadly, the department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have. Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24. In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers. The department will also build on this investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.

Pupils: Transgender People

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to help protect trans children from bullying and harassment in schools.

David Johnston: The government has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. The department has provided over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, this includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups. In addition to this, on 19 December 2023 the department published the draft guidance for schools and colleges in relation to gender questioning children, along with a consultation, which was clear that bullying must never be tolerated. The consultation closed on 12 March 2024 and the responses will support the department to finalise the guidance for schools and colleges for final publication later this year.

Schools: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the current funding formula for schools to ensure that it is adjusted for (a) inflation and (b) increases in the cost of living.

Damian Hinds: The overall core school budget will total £60.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. School funding is therefore set to have risen by £11 billion next year, compared with 2021/2022.

Schools: Absenteeism

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children and young people missing school as a result of long covid in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: The department does not hold information on absence by the specific category of long COVID. Data on absence by reason, which includes the category of illness, is published in the ‘Pupil Absence in Schools in England’ statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england. Where pupils face barriers to their attendance because of long-term medical conditions, the department expects schools to work with families to put in place additional support to help them to attend regularly. They should also consider whether support from external agencies would be appropriate, may need to provide reasonable adjustments, and ensure that appropriate pastoral support is in place. Local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable provision for children of compulsory school age who, because of health reasons, would otherwise not receive suitable education.

Nurseries: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase nursery staff in the North West, in the context of the Government's plans to expand the number of free childcare places.

David Johnston: By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. In February, the department launched a new national recruitment campaign for the early years and childcare sector, ‘Do something BIG. Work with small children’, and a financial incentives pilot. Eligible joiners and returners will receive a tax-free payment of up to £1,000. This followed the introduction of workforce flexibilities to the Early Years Foundation Stage in January. The department has also introduced Skills Bootcamps for Early Years, which will create a pathway to accelerated Level 3 Early Years Apprenticeships. The number of paid childcare staff in 2023 is estimated at 347,300 compared to 334,400 paid childcare staff in 2022, an increase of 3.86%. Additionally, the department has invested up to £180 million in providing an early years education recovery package of workforce training, qualifications and support and guidance for the early years sector. This includes additional places for early years initial teacher training (EYITT), and new level 3 qualifications criteria for early years educators to ensure higher quality training and better care for children. The new criteria will come into effect from September 2024. For the North West, the total number of staff working in group and school based providers has increased from 39,394 in 2018 to 42,027 in 2023, an increase of 6.68%.

Schools: Concrete

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete have had remedial work completed in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: A list of education settings with confirmed RAAC and the funding route to remove RAAC was published on 8 February. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. The government is funding the removal of RAAC either through grants, or through the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP). The longer-term requirements of each school or college will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. Permanently removing RAAC may involve refurbishment of existing buildings or rebuilding affected buildings. Schools joining the SRP will be prioritised for delivery according to the condition need of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The department will also take into account the suitability and longevity of the temporary accommodation they are using. The department has committed to responsible bodies that it will confirm when works are expected to start by the end of the summer term. For schools and colleges receiving grants, the department is working with responsible bodies to support them to agree the scope of works they are procuring. In some cases, this may involve undertaking technical assessments to inform the design of building works and in other cases the removal of RAAC is already underway and will be completed in the coming months.

Pre-school Education and Primary Education: Down's Syndrome

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) early years learning and (b) primary education for children with Down's Syndrome.

David Johnston: The department is committed to improving the life outcomes and opportunities for children with Down syndrome, including through follow-up to the Down Syndrome Act 2022. From 2025, the department will begin collecting data on the numbers of children and young people with Down syndrome in schools and colleges. This will help inform the planning locally of long term services.The special educational needs and disability (SEND) system in education settings provides support for all children with SEND. The system focuses on removing barriers to education and putting the right support in place to meet need, regardless of the specific condition a child may have. The department set out its mission for more children and young people with SEND to have their needs met effectively in mainstream settings in the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in March 2023. The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan.In the Improvement Plan, the department confirmed that frontline professionals, such as teachers and early years practitioners, would be equipped with the skills and expertise to make best use of provision and to identify needs early, accurately and consistently. The department is developing a suite of practitioner standards to help early years staff, teachers and teaching assistants to identify and support the needs of children and young people they work with, prioritising areas such as speech and language development. The department is funding up to 7,000 early years staff to gain an accredited Level 3 early years special educational needs co-ordinator qualification.Additionally, the department is investing £2.6 billion in new specialist places to increase the number of places for those children who need specialist support in mainstream and special schools, and alternative provision. These developments will help children with Down syndrome in early years settings and primary schools reach their full potential.Specifically on early years learning, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow, including learning and development requirements. The EYFS includes specific requirements for supporting children with SEND, including those with Down syndrome. All early years providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND and all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice.

Foster Care: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) St Helens North constituency and (b) the North West.

David Johnston: The department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so that foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as aiding the retention of foster carers already in place.St Helens North is participating in this programme, working in a regional cluster group, ‘Foster4’, which is led by Warrington.Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is increasing the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.The department will also build on its investment since 2014 of over £8 million to advance the work of the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.

Adoption and Guardianship: Finance

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided through the adoption and special guardianship support fund in each of the last five years.

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications to the adoption and special guardianship support fund were (a) made and (b) successful (i) in total and (b) by local authority area; and what the average amount awarded was for those claims (A) in total and (B) by local authority area in each of the last five years.

David Johnston: The information requested can be found in the attached table.. 18415_19416_Table  (xlsx, 86.1KB)

Schools: Offensive Weapons

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many weapons were seized in schools in England in (a) 2018 and (b) 2023.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of guidance for schools on knife crime.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to update guidance for schools on knife crime.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with Ofsted on guidance for schools on knife crime.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on regarding knife crime.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the incidence of knife crime on school premises.

David Johnston: The department does not hold data on how many weapons have been seized in schools.The statutory ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) guidance advises schools on creating safe environments. KCSIE is clear that all staff should have an awareness of safeguarding issues that can put children at risk of harm. The ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’ Guidance was updated in 2022 to emphasise the importance of the school duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils and staff. Headteachers, and the staff they authorise, have a statutory power to search a pupil or their possessions, where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that the pupil may have a prohibited item, such as knives or weapons, and confiscate such items.The department works across government, and with other partners, on initiatives to prevent serious violence, including knife crime. Over £50 million has been made available to fund specialist support in mainstream and alternative provision schools in the areas where serious violence most affects children and communities. This includes SAFE (‘Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed’) taskforces that have been established in ten areas, reaching over 2,100 children as of September 2023. Taskforces are school-led partnerships investing in evidence-based interventions in and around school, such as mentoring and social skills training, that reach children early on, to re-engage them in their education and reduce their involvement in serious violence. To benefit areas outside of the programme, the department has published a supportive guide on school-based interventions, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-taskforces.

Department for Business and Trade

Export Controls

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to include an analysis of the work of the Office for Trade Sanctions Implementation in future strategic export controls annual reports.

Greg Hands: The UK Strategic Export Controls Annual Report 2023, which is due to be published later this year, will include an update on the creation of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) and plans to transition certain functions from the Export Control Joint Unit to OTSI. Once OTSI has been established, we expect it to produce an annual report covering the breadth of OTSI’s activity.

F-16 Aircraft: Export Controls

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many arms export licences have been issued for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment for American built F16 aircraft in the last 10 years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of domestic arms export licences are active for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment used in American built F-16 aircraft.

Greg Hands: HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics. This covers all requested data up until 30 June 2023.This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

F-35 Aircraft: Export Controls

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many arms export licences have been issued for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment for American built F-35 aircraft in the last 10 years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many arms export licences are currently active for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment used in American built F-35 aircraft.

Greg Hands: HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics. This covers all requested data up until 30 June 2023.This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

Open General Export Licences: Israel

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what reviews have been conducted for the terms of each Open General Export Licence that lists Israel as a permitted destination since October 2023.

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Open General Export Licence for exports in support of joint strike fighter: F-35 Lightning II has been reviewed since October 2023.

Greg Hands: The Government continues to monitor closely the situation in Israel and Gaza.The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All export licences, including Open General Export Licences, are kept under careful and continual review as standard. We are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences and refuse new licence applications as circumstances require. Any changes to Open General Export Licences would be communicated through a Notice to Exporters which would be published on GOV.UK.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many export licences have been granted to assist in the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza since 1 October 2023; and what items have been licensed.

Greg Hands: HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.The most recent Official Statistics cover the period 1 April - 30 June 2023.Information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 October – 31 December 2023 will be published after April 2024 and information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 January – 31 March 2024 will be published later this year.

Exports: Hamas

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) risk and (b) prevalence of (i) re-export and (ii) diversion of UK exports to Hamas.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business and Trade works alongside other government departments to regularly assess UK export licences. This includes working with the Ministry of Defence on risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity.The Export Control Joint Unit will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law. HMG can and does refuse applications where there is a planned re-export that is inconsistent with the Criteria, or where we assess that the goods may be diverted to an undesirable destination.

Arms Trade: Israel

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK arms export licences have been issued where the end user is the Israeli Defence Force for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment in the last 6 months.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK arms export licences are currently active for (a) equipment and (b) parts of equipment whose end user is the Israeli Defence Force.

Greg Hands: HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. The most recent Official Statistics cover the period 1 April - 30 June 2023. Information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 October – 31 December 2023 will be published after April 2024 and information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 January – 31 March 2024 will be published later this year.

Import Controls: Occupied Territories

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the legality of imports from illegal Israeli settlements.

Greg Hands: The UK’s position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law and undermine the prospect of a two-state solution.Under the existing UK-Israel trade agreement, goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the agreement between the UK and Israel, nor the agreement between the UK and the Palestinian Authority.This will not change in the upgraded FTA with Israel. The UK will not compromise on any of our longstanding positions on the Middle East Peace Process throughout this negotiation, including with respect to settlements.

Treasury

Defence: Finance

Giles Watling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of when defence spending will reach 2.5% of GDP; whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising defence spending to 3% of GDP; and if he will have discussions with the Leader of the House on finding time to debate the Early Day Motion in the name of the hon. Member for Clacton, number 455, on Future defence spending.

Laura Trott: The government has consistently prioritised defence spending. The Ministry of Defence was the first department to get certainty on its budgets in this Parliament. This settlement was the largest sustained spending increase in defence since the end of the Cold War, with a £24 billion uplift in cash terms over the four-year period. In March 2023, we also provided an extra £11 billion for defence and national security priorities over the next five years, with £4.95 billion over the next two years. The government’s aspiration over the longer-term is to invest 2.5% of GDP on defence, when the fiscal and economic circumstances allow.

Income Tax: G7

Simon Jupp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the evidential basis is for his Department's tweet of 6 January 2024 that the UK had the lowest effective average personal tax rate in the G7; and what the effective average personal tax rate is in each G7 country.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to rewarding hard work through a fair and simple tax system that is also competitive internationally. The Government is taking a responsible approach by delivering tax cuts within the fiscal rules.The tweet of 6 January 2024 was based on the most recently published data from the OECD’s Taxing Wages 2023 publication. This shows the total personal tax liability divided by salary for a single employed individual with no children on average earnings for Germany (37.4%), Italy (28.8%), France (27.7%), Canada (25.6%), the US (24.8%) and Japan (22.3%). Following the 2p NICs cut made at Autumn Statement, the effective personal tax rate for an employee on £44,300 (the OECD’s figure for UK average earnings) reduced from 23.6% to 21.5%, which would be the lowest rate in the G7, according to the latest available OECD data. This has fallen to 20.1% following the further 2p NICs cut made at Spring Budget.

Tourism: VAT

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions has he had with businesses on tax-free shopping for international visitors.

Nigel Huddleston: As the UK’s economic and finance ministry, HM Treasury has regular discussions with representatives from a wide range of industries including travel and retail as well as business representative organisations covering many sectors.

Export Controls

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 8.5 in the UK strategic export controls annual report 2022, published on 19 July 2023, HC1681, of the strategic exports and sanctions seizures in each year, how many and what proportion related to (a) strategic exports controls seizures and (b) goods subject to trade sanctions; what the destination countries were for each seizure; and in each case, (i) what and (ii) how many items were seized.

Nigel Huddleston: Information on seizures of goods subject to sanctions and strategic export controls is available here:  UK strategic export controls annual report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Export Controls

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 8.4 of the UK strategic export controls annual report 2022, published on 19 July 2023, HC1681, of the voluntary disclosures received, how many and what proportion related to (a) export controls and (b) sanctions violations; and what the destination country for each case was.

Nigel Huddleston: Information on voluntary disclosures relating to trade sanctions and strategic export controls is available here:UK strategic export controls annual report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Export Controls

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to section 8.2 of the UK strategic export controls annual report 2022, published on 19 July 2023, HC1681, what the (a) value and (b) destination country of each compound settlement issued by HMRC was.

Nigel Huddleston: Information on Compound Settlements issued by HMRC are available here:UK strategic export controls annual report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Social Services: Finance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for social care.

Laura Trott: The government has made available up to £8.6bn in additional funding over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes £500m announced in January which has specifically been made available to support local authorities with the cost of social care in 2024-25 in response to representations from local government stakeholders. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care. At Spring Budget, the government announced it is investing £165 million over the next 4 years to significantly expand the capacity of the children’s home estate in England, improving outcomes for looked after children and unlocking productivity savings by reducing local government reliance on emergency provision. The government is also exploring further ways to combat profiteering and bring down costs in the children’s care market. This is in addition to the £200 million the government has already committed in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

Department of Health and Social Care

Dental Services

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much (a) NHS and (b) private work was completed by GDC registered dentists who qualified (i) in the UK, (ii) overseas and (iii) in total in each of the last 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom: Primary care dentistry in the National Health Service is delivered through contracts structured around Units of Dental Activity (UDAs). Each treatment is allocated a number of UDAs in proportion to the complexity and amount of work required. The following table shows the number of UDAs delivered by dentists who have qualified within the United Kingdom and outside thereof whilst working in the NHS in England for 2016/17 onwards:YearUK Qualified UDA DeliveredNon-UK Qualified UDA DeliveredOther UDA DeliveredTotal UDA Delivered2016/1748,825,39226,394,40310,644,60885,864,4032017/1848,640,15326,323,3438,363,06983,326,5652018/1949,482,86227,192,2926,528,61883,203,7722019/2048,144,32627,032,5484,666,85579,843,7282020/2115,260,1688,265,064927,59124,452,8232021/2235,781,81120,777,0931,210,21857,769,1222022/2343,918,65225,763,340486,69570,168,687Source: NHS Business Services AuthorityNotes:The dentist’s region of qualification is based on that as provided on the General Dental Council (GDC) register. It is important to note that not all dentists have a country of qualification on the GDC register as supplied to the NHS Business Services Authority, and so these dentists are placed into “other” as their region of qualification.The Department does not hold data on how much private dental work was completed in the last 10 years.

Dental Services: Finance

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much additional funding will be provided to integrated care boards through the dentistry recovery plan by area.

Andrea Leadsom: We currently invest more than £3 billion in National Health Service dental services each year. Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry is backed with £200 million, delivering new initiatives to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry.The amount spent by each integrated care board (ICB) will depend on a number of factors, including how many new patients are seen in each ICB, whether any practices in the ICB will benefit from the increase to the minimum Unit of Dental Activity value, and where Golden Hello payments are offered.

Dental Services: Finance

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanism she plans to use to ringfence NHS dentistry budgets in financial year 2024-25.

Andrea Leadsom: We currently invest more than £3 billion in National Health Service dental services each year. We are committed to protecting this funding for dentistry purposes and we will ringfence this funding in 2024 to 2025. We will issue guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) shortly through NHS England’s 2024 to 2025 revenue finance and contracting guidance. To ensure compliance against this requirement, and to strengthen oversight of funding that is used to deliver access to NHS dental care, NHS England will meet with and collect monthly returns from all ICBs to establish current and planned spend against the ringfenced dental allocations budget.

Electronic Cigarettes: Sales

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of non-compliant vapes sold on the UK market.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Trading Standards, and other regulatory enforcement agencies to ensure that products sold in the United Kingdom comply with regulations for all e-cigarette products, and that non-compliant products are removed from the market.In April 2023, the Government announced £3 million investment over two years to enhance work on illicit vape enforcement. Led by National Trading Standards, this builds on existing work by local trading standards officers across the country. Through this work, they identified that 2.1 million illicit vapes were seized across England by Trading Standards between 2022 to 2023.To strengthen our enforcement activity, the Government will also provide an additional £30 million of funding per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards. This increase in investment will help to stamp out criminal activity by boosting the enforcement of illicit tobacco and vapes.

Dental Services: Wellingborough

Gen Kitchen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS Dentistry in Wellingborough constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: On 7 February 2024, we published Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, which is backed by £200 million and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment. The plan sets out our actions to improve dental access for patients across the country, and to address the challenges facing National Health Service dentistry, including in Northamptonshire. From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board is responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need, and determine the priorities for investment across the ICB area.

Suicide

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2024 to Question 16027 on Suicide, how much of the £57 million allocated for suicide (a) prevention and (b) bereavement services has been allocated to local authorities; and by what date must the funds be spent.

Maria Caulfield: The £57 million of funding was made available across the period from April 2019 to March 2024. Neither the Department nor NHS England holds information centrally on how much of this funding has ultimately gone to local authorities. NHS England allocates funding to integrated care boards, who in turn commission activities across local authority and health settings.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on the Healthy Start Scheme in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial year.

Andrea Leadsom: The cost of operating the Healthy Start scheme was £78,148,555 in 2021/22 and £78,761,339 in 2022/23.

Ophthalmology: Training

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new training places there will be for ophthalmologists as part of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

Andrea Leadsom: As part of the historic expansion of medical school places set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, we will ensure that there is adequate growth in foundation placement capacity, as those taking up these new places begin to graduate, and a commensurate increase in specialty training places is required. A decision regarding which specialities these places will be allocated to will be made nearer the time that the places are required for the expanded workforce. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure this growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.In 2023, the General Medical Council reported that there are 592 doctors in ophthalmology specialty training across England, which is 34, or 6.1%, more than in 2019. As of November 2023, there are 3,058 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of ophthalmology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 214, or 7.5%, more than in 2019. This includes 1,465 FTE consultants, which is 125, or 9.4%, more than in 2019.

Nutrition

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the food and drink sector on taking steps to provide healthy alternatives to products that are high in (a) fat, (b) sugar and (c) salt.

Andrea Leadsom: Discussions have been held by officials with the food and drink sector on taking steps to provide healthier alternatives to products that are high in salt since 2004, high in sugar since 2014, and high in calories since 2017. Provision of healthier alternatives to products that are high in saturated fat have been part of those discussions.My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of issues. These ministerial meetings are routinely published on a quarterly basis in arrears on the GOV.UK website. However, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will recuse herself on departmental issues relating to outside interests, all of which have been declared to the House and under the Ministerial Code.

Obesity

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of obesity; and what steps her Department is taking to help tackle obesity.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is delivering a wide range of measures to reduce the numbers of both adults and children who are overweight, or living with obesity. To date this includes legislative measures to limit the advertising, and location and price promotion, of less healthy products, and to ensure calorie levels are provided on menus when eating out of the home. Impact assessments for the legislated measures suggest there will be substantial health benefits, as well as savings to the National Health Service, accrued.We have seen important successes through the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), which between 2015 and 2020 has seen sugar levels reduced by 46% in, and over 46,000 tonnes of sugar removed from, products in scope of the levy. Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey from 2019 shows that sugar intakes have fallen for some age groups. In older children and adolescents, this appears to be partly driven by soft drinks contributing less to sugar intakes, likely as a result of the changes made to drinks included in the SDIL. Further information from the survey is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-results-from-years-9-to-11-2016-to-2017-and-2018-to-2019 A paper on the association of obesity in primary school children and the SDIL suggests that the reduction in the sugar content of soft drinks delivered by the SDIL could have prevented up to 5,000 cases of obesity in girls in the last year of primary school. Reductions were greatest in girls who attended schools in the 40% of the most deprived areas. Further information from the paper is available at the following link: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004160 The voluntary reformulation programme requires businesses reduce levels of sugar, salt, and calories in everyday food and drink. Levels of sugar have reduced in breakfast cereals, yogurts, and pre-packed milk-based drinks by 15%, 13.5%, and 29.7% respectively, between 2015 and 2020. Levels of salt have reduced in some products by 20%.

Electronic Cigarettes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of taking steps to create a vape-free generation.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one cause of ill-health, disability, and death, responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom, causing around one in four cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. There is no more dangerous product that is legally sold in our shops than tobacco, a product that will kill two thirds of its users.The health advice on vaping is clear, vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape. Vaping should never be used by, or targeted at, children, especially given the highly addictive nature of nicotine.This is why we have announced strong measures to reduce the appeal, availability, and affordability of vapes to children, whilst ensuring that vapes remain an available quit aid for adult smokers. We will also ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes, which are clearly linked to the recent rise in vaping in children.

Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Trading Standards

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding will be allocated to each local authority trading standards for enforcing the (a) disposable vapes ban and (b) generational tobacco ban.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has committed to increasing investment for enforcement agencies by £30 million per year. The additional funding in England will boost agencies such as local trading standards, to enforce the new age of sale and vaping measures. It will also scale up HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force activity, to stamp out opportunities for criminals in the illicit tobacco trade.Of this funding, over £100 million over five years will support HM Revenue and Custom’s and Border Force’s new illicit tobacco strategy, published on 29 January 2024. We are working closely with Trading Standards to consider how the new funding can best support their programmes of local-level enforcement.

Nutrition

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward further policies to help reduce the (a) sugar, (b) fat and (c) salt content in diets.

Andrea Leadsom: Restrictions on the advertising and volume price promotions, such as buy-one-get-one free or three for £2 offers, for less healthy foods will come into force on 1 October 2025. The advertising legislation will lead to the introduction of a 9:00pm television watershed and restrict paid-for advertising of less healthy products online, United Kingdom wide. Impact assessments already published for these measures show that the volume price promotions restrictions are expected to accrue health benefits of £2 billion, and National Health Service savings of £180 million over 25 years. The advertising restrictions are expected to deliver health benefits of £2 billion, and NHS savings of £50 million over the next 100 years. Voluntary guidelines to reduce levels of sugar and salt in, and improve the labelling of, commercial baby food and drink aimed at those aged up to 36 months old, are currently being finalised and will be published in the spring. Businesses are being given until the end of 2025 to deliver the sugar and calorie reduction targets through the voluntary reformulation programme. These targets were due to be delivered earlier than this, but businesses have been given additional time because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food system. The Government will continue to monitor this area, but will explore other levers if progress is not made. Through the sugar reduction workstream of the overarching reformulation programme, between 2015 and 2020 reductions in sugar levels were delivered in breakfast cereals, yogurts, and pre-packed flavoured milk based drinks of 14.9%, 13.5%, and 29.7%, respectively. Discussions are also underway to establish a Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP). This is a multi-year partnership between the Government, industry, and civil society to improve access to, and the availability of, data to build consistent reporting requirements for businesses on key health and sustainability objectives.

Blood: Donors

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of plasma donation points.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) are responsible for plasma collection in England. There are currently three plasma specific donation centres in Birmingham, Reading, and Twickenham. NHSBT will increase the number of plasma collection points over the coming years, and are currently assessing the optimum locations for this new capacity.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were eligible for Healthy Start vouchers in January (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: The number of those eligible for Healthy Start in January 2022 was 553,601, and the number of those eligible in January 2023 was 578,067.

Health Services: Greater London

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to publish all responses made to the Start Well public consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal and children's surgical services in North Central London.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the NHS' planned timetable is for a decision on the Start Well public consultation on the future of maternity, neonatal and children’s surgical services in north central London.

Andrew Stephenson: The Start Well public consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and paediatric surgical services in North Central London closed on Sunday 17 March 2024. The responses received will now be analysed by an independent research agency, who will produce a report for the consulting bodies, North Central London Integrated Care Board, on behalf of the local integrated care system, and NHS London Specialised Commissioning. This report will be published and, along with a wide range of evidence and information, will be used to develop a decision-making business case for consideration by the integrated care board.North Central London Integrated Care Board expect it will take some months to develop the decision-making business case. The meeting will be held in public, with further details published later this year.

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Health Services

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will set a target time for women to receive treatment from specialist referred services after they first present symptoms of heavy menstrual bleeding in primary care.

Maria Caulfield: We recognise the severe impact that heavy menstrual bleeding can have on women and girls, which is why improving care for menstrual problems, including heavy menstrual bleeding, is among our 2024 priorities for the Women’s Health Strategy.Many women can have heavy menstrual bleeding managed in a general practice and women’s health hubs. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for essential services in the community. One of the core services of women’s health hubs is menstrual problems assessment and treatment, including for women experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding.Accessing treatment at a health hub can avoid the need for a referral to secondary care, and therefore cut waiting times, one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities. We are making good progress on tackling the longest waits, to ensure patients get the care they need when they need it. The main standard in elective performance is the referral-to-treatment standard. The NHS Constitution sets out that a minimum of 92% of patients waiting for their first definitive elective treatment, including patients with heavy menstrual bleeding, should have been waiting no more than 18 weeks from referral.

Mental Health Services: Wellingborough

Gen Kitchen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to mental health services in Wellingborough constituency.

Maria Caulfield: Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are expanding and transforming National Health Service mental health care in England, including in the Wellingborough constituency. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, NHS spending on mental health has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms, as compared to the target of £3.4 billion set out at the time of the NHS Long Term Plan. All integrated care boards are also on track to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard in 2023/24, including the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board.This has enabled 3.6 million people to access mental health support in 2022/23, a 10% increase from 2021/22. To support this expansion, our aim is to grow the mental health workforce by an additional 27,000 staff by spring 2024. In September 2023, there were over 146,000 full time equivalents in the mental health workforce. This is over 10,300, or 7.6%, more than September 2022.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what psychological support is available for people infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products in South Antrim.

Maria Caulfield: Health Services in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Government.In Northern Ireland, specialist clinical psychological support has been available for all infected and affected individuals impacted by contaminated blood since January 2019. The service was initially provided within the existing Clinical Health Psychological Services. After receiving the non-recurrent funding from the Department of Health as part of the inquiry process, a dedicated regional psychological service, providing assessment, psychological therapies, liaison and sign posting as appropriate, for those individuals who were infected and affected, as well as their relatives, has been made available. This includes HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infected or affected individuals. A patient and family information leaflet is available within clinics and to clinicians, to discuss referral to this service with patients and their families.

Kidneys: Transplant Surgery

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help reduce waiting times for children in need of kidney transplants.

Andrea Leadsom: We are working with NHS Blood and Transplant to help reduce waiting times for children in need of kidney transplants. This includes implementing initiatives to improve the use of living donor kidney transplantation in paediatric centres, engaging with transplant centres to review patients who are too unwell to receive a transplant, and reducing long waiters, which are patients who wait more than 104 days for a transplant.Nation-wide campaigns have been developed to increase paediatric registrations on the organ donor register, for example Ralph’s campaign, and the school’s education programme has been refreshed for younger children. A paediatric perfusion programme is also being developed to increase the use of kidneys from donors after circulatory death for paediatric patients.

Pharmacy: Training

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many training places for pharmacists in England there were in each year since 2010.

Andrea Leadsom: The number of training places for pharmacists in England is uncapped and determined each year by health education providers. The following table shows the number of starters on the Foundation Pharmacist Training Scheme, which is the final year of training and must be completed by all pharmacists before they can sit their registration exam, for each year since 2010/2011:Training YearStarters on Pharmacist Foundation Training Scheme2010/201123672011/201225182012/201326002013/201426192014/201527672015/201627682016/201727852017/201828452018/201928542019/202025662020/202125832021/202223922022/202325982023/20242626Source: General Pharmaceutical CouncilNote: Data may include trainees studying in England, but upon successful completion, they may register in other areas of the United Kingdom.As set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the ambition is to expand training places for pharmacists by 29% to approximately 4,300 by 2028/29, and to almost 5,000 by 2031/32.

Pharmacy: Licensing

Darren Henry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to reduce the time taken to grant licences to pharmacies applying to open new premises.

Andrea Leadsom: Pharmacies that want to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical service must submit an application to the integrated care board (ICB). ICBs determine applications having regard to Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments (PNAs), undertaken by local authorities. Applications can also be made to provide benefits that were not foreseen in the PNA. If the applicant or another contractor wishes to appeal the decision of the ICB, then they can appeal the decision. Appeals are dealt with by NHS Resolution on behalf of my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.Together with Community Pharmacy England, the representative body of all pharmacy contractors in England, we keep the market entry system and underpinning processes under review, and streamline and expedite the processes where possible. For example, in May 2023, we removed the requirement for an applicant to provide fitness information if they already operate another pharmacy in the area, and the ICB already holds their up-to-date fitness information, and shortened the work history that needs to be provided to the last seven years. Applicants can also speed up the process by ensuring they provide all the right information with their application in a timely manner.

Smoking

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) vapes, (b) vapes with flavoured e-liquids and (c) vapes with fruit, dessert and sweet flavoured e-liquids at successful tobacco smoking cessation.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions officials in her  Department have had with the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities on the findings in it's Vaping in England review, published on 29 September 2022, that non-tobacco flavours may play a positive role in helping people switch from smoking to vaping.

Andrea Leadsom: Due to the nicotine content and the unknown long-term harms, vaping carries risks to health and lifelong addiction for children. Vaping is, therefore, only recommended for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking. Young people and people who have never smoked, should not vape.Our youth vaping call for evidence, published in 2023, demonstrated that the flavours are one of the main reasons that vapes appeal to children. However, as set out in the 2022 Nicotine vaping in England review, we also recognize that there is some evidence that non-tobacco flavours can play a positive role in smoking cessation. This is why it is critical we strike the balance between restricting flavours in vapes to reduce their appeal to young people, whilst also ensuring that vapes remain available for adult smokers as a viable smoking cessation tool.In the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we will introduce powers to restrict vape flavours. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Department will then undertake further analysis and consultation before introducing any specific flavour restrictions. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) is an internal part of the Department, and OHID officials are leading on our smokefree generation and youth vaping work.

Genito-urinary Medicine and HIV Infection: Training

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS England funding the training of specialists in (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care.

Andrea Leadsom: The sexual and reproductive healthcare workforce is diverse as services are offered across primary care, community and sexual health clinic settings, other public health settings as well as acute and ambulatory care settings.The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genitourinary and HIV care to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need.

Healthy Start Scheme

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on the uptake of Healthy Start vouchers on the Healthy Start website.

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on Healthy Start uptake on the Healthy Start website.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.

Genito-urinary Medicine: Health Professions

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of sexual and reproductive health professionals in (a) post and (b) training in the context of trends in the level of sexually transmitted infection rates.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care for the next five years; and if she will make an estimate of the number of consultants specialising in (i) genitourinary and (ii) HIV care who will be employed in the NHS in 2029.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.

Members: Correspondence

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of November 2023 to the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health from public healthcare professionals on the Healthy Start scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has received the correspondence and will respond in due course. The Healthy Start scheme is an important nutritional safety net for families who need support and the interest from public healthcare professionals is welcomed.

Euthanasia: Health Services

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on NHS services of the introduction of legislation to permit assisted dying.

Helen Whately: No assessment has been made.

Continuing Care: Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 12 October 2021 to Question 51702 on NHS: Expenditure, how much and what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on continuing healthcare in each financial year between 2015-16 and 2021-22.

Helen Whately: NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) spend data includes Standard CHC, Fast Track CHC and Personal Health Budgets (PHBs). This data for the requested period is shown in the attached table.NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) spend data (docx, 21.3KB)

Hospitals: Homelessness

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to prevent patients (a) experiencing and (b) at risk of homelessness from being discharged from hospital to no fixed abode.

Helen Whately: The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, to appropriate accommodation. Between 2020 and 2022, the Department delivered £16 million to 17 local sites, to pilot Out of Hospital Care Models to people experiencing homelessness following a hospital stay. These models provide interim accommodation, care, and support while full assessments of individual needs are carried out. There are positive preliminary findings, and a final evaluation is due next month. From this we will share learning to encourage local areas to adopt similar models.Improving how discharges are arranged for people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, is also supported by our wider work to improve discharge processes. We have ensured every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs, who need extra support. Furthermore, in January 2024 the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness

Radiology: Greater London

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many 24-hr interventional radiology services are available in the North Central London area; and at what locations are those services.

Andrew Stephenson: Twenty-four-hour interventional radiology services are available on site in two hospitals in the North Central London area, namely the Royal Free Hospital and University College London Hospital. There are agreed referral pathways in place between providers across North Central London to access these services.

Department of Health and Social Care: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent in Darlington constituency in each financial year between 2019-20 and 2022-23.

Andrew Stephenson: Information on spending in the Darlington constituency is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the spend of the organisations that are the closest approximation to the Darlington constituency, each year from 2019/20 to 2022/23: 2019/202020/212021/222022/23NHS Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)£177,000,000000NHS Tees Valley CCG0£1,293,000,000£1,502,000,000£341,000,000NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB)000£5,171,000,000 The number and commissioning responsibilities of the CCGs, now ICBs, have changed during the period requested, and expenditure levels set out in the table are not directly comparable year-on-year. On 1 July 2022, the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB replaced and took on responsibility for eight CCGs, including Tees Valley, which is reflected in the higher level of spend in 2022/23.

Oral Cancer: Diagnosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people diagnosed with mouth cancer in the last twelve months.

Andrew Stephenson: The information requested is not available for the last twelve months. The most recent data available from 2021 shows 9,018 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer in England. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2021---summary-counts-only

Parkinson's Disease: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease receive an appointment with a specialist within six weeks.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, Parkinson’s disease: Diagnosis and management in primary and secondary care, updated in 2017, sets out best practice for clinicians in the identification and treatment of Parkinson’s disease in line with the latest available evidence. The guidance states that if Parkinson’s disease is suspected, people should be referred quickly and without treatment to a specialist with expertise in the differential diagnosis of this condition.We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts to have due regard to relevant NICE guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.More generally, cutting waiting lists is one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities. We are making good progress on tackling the longest waits, to ensure patients get the care they need when they need it. Ambitions to eliminate long waits were set out in the elective recovery plan, with the overall aim of eliminating waits of over a year for elective care, by March 2025.To facilitate this across elective services, we are increasing activity, with plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This includes expanding capacity through the creation of a new network of community diagnostic centres, and maximising all available independent sector capacity.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people with postural tachycardia syndrome.

Andrew Stephenson: Services for postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their locally commissioned services meet the needs of their local population.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced a clinical knowledge summary, last revised in November 2023, which outlines the method healthcare professionals should follow for diagnosing PoTS. This summary is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/Clinical knowledge summaries are evidence-based summaries designed to support healthcare professionals in primary care, by providing them with a readily accessible summary of the current evidence base and practical advice on best practice.

Social Services: LGBT+ People

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with Skills for Care on levels of take up of their LGBT+ Learning Framework, published in February 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has had no recent discussions around levels of take up of the LGBTQ+ learning framework.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Staff

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what staff networks there are in his Department.

John Glen: There are 15 active networks listed below:Flexible working and job share,Carers,Parenting,CORE (Race),ABLE (disability),Social Mobility,Menopause,Faith & Belief,Christian Network,Civil Service Jewish Network,LGBT+,EU Nationals EngAge (intergenerational/age)Gender Equality Group.Neurodiversity Network

Blood: Contamination

Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure interim payments to infected blood bereaved families are made without delay.

John Glen: In October 2022, we made interim payments of £100,000 to chronic infected beneficiaries and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes. I recognise the importance the infected blood community places on interim payments relating to those deaths not yet recognised, and the Government is working through the technical implications of recommendation 12.

Blood: Contamination

Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had on the appointment of a chair for the compensation arms length body for infected blood victims.

John Glen: The Government will respond in full to Sir Brian’s recommendations on compensation following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report, however, we are making progress. In particular, the Government will bring forward amendments at Report Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the Other Place with the intention of speeding up the implementation of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Veterans: Advisory Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the transition to the new Veteran’s Gateway on existing users of that service.

Johnny Mercer: The Office for Veterans' Affairs has conducted extensive research with veterans and charities to understand the current service provided by the Veterans' Gateway. Based on the feedback received, we plan to improve information and content on GOV.UK as well as developing a new comprehensive signposting tool, ensuring veterans receive the right help as quickly as possible.We plan to regularly assess, iterate and improve the services we provide to veterans to ensure that they meet individual needs and align with the principles in the Government Service Standard.

Office for Veterans' Affairs: Standards

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper entitled Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022 to 2024, what metrics the Office for Veterans’ Affairs uses to assess the effectiveness of the (a) implementation and (b) impact of commitments that (i) it is responsible for and (ii) other Departments lead on; and what steps the Office for Veterans’ Affairs takes to help ensure that those metrics are met.

Johnny Mercer: The Office for Veterans' Affairs works with partners across and beyond government to monitor the effectiveness and impact of the commitments outlined in the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan.Since the publication of the Action Plan in 2022, the Government has published four updates on progress; two six monthly reports in August 2022 and August 2023, and two updates within the Armed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual Report laid before parliament in December 2022 and December 2023.The most recent report highlighted notable achievements against the Action Plan and 2018 Strategy for our Veterans, outlining where commitments have been delivered and where more work is needed to deliver on our government’s ambition to make the UK the best place to be a veteran. The Office for Veterans' Affairs engages with its partners regularly to ensure the commitments in the action plan are delivered, with updates on progress provided to the Veterans Advisory Board and departments across government.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Conor McGinn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendations of the first interim report of the Infected Blood Inquiry.

John Glen: The Inquiry’s first interim report contained the recommendation that an interim payment of no less than £100,000 be paid to all those infected and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes. The Government made these payments in October 2022, and these payments continue to be made to eligible beneficiaries upon being accepted onto the schemes.

Veterans: Homelessness

Steve McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what definition of homelessness is used by the Office for Veterans Affairs.

Johnny Mercer: The Office for Veterans’ Affairs’ definition of homelessness is in line with the Government’s definition of homelessness. Statutory homelessness is defined as households or individuals who are owed a homelessness duty by a local authority.

Civil Servants: Incentives

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been paid bonuses in each of the last five years.

John Glen: As part of the Government’s commitment to transparency, departments have published aggregated annual information on their bonus spend on their own websites since 2011. This promotes scrutiny of how taxpayers’ money is spent. The latest data, which covers the 2021/22 performance year, was published on Government Departments’ websites on 31 March 2023. This data includes information on total bonus spend, the number of civil servants receiving bonuses, and the size of payments.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Sleeping Rough: Foreign Nationals

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of people sleeping rough that are not British nationals.

Felicity Buchan: The annual rough sleeping snapshot provides information about the estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night between 1 October and 30 November each year. This is data from local authorities and includes some basic demographic details including nationality. Details can be found at: Rough sleeping snapshot in England: autumn 2023 - GOV.UK.

Shared Ownership Schemes: Older People

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many homes have been delivered through the Homes England Older People’s Shared Ownership scheme in each of the last ten years.

Lee Rowley: The figures in the table below represent the number of shared ownership homes aimed at older persons by shared ownership providers, the majority of which, but not all, will be provided through the Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme.YearActual Completions2013/142352014/15362015/162532016/172142017/181702018/193162019/202242020/213142021/222702022/23176

Holiday Parks: Park Homes

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living permanently in holiday park homes.

Lee Rowley: The data requested is not held centrally.

Urban Areas: Walls and Fences

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of maintaining (a) city walls and (b) city walls that people can walk around on the availability of local authority funding for other services.

Simon Hoare: The cultural significance of York City Walls is recognised nationally through the designation of many sections as Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments, yet their maintenance remains the responsibility of their owners.The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This is an above-inflation increase.For York this represents an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £11.32 million or 7% – making available a total of up to £172.5 million in 2024-25.The majority of the funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced and local authorities are able to spend the money as most appropriate for their local area, according to local priorities.

Flats: Fire Prevention

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support leaseholders living in buildings below 11 metres in height with fire remediation costs.

Lee Rowley: The responsibility for the costs of fixing historical building safety defects should rest with building owners. They should not pass these costs on to leaseholders but should seek to recover costs from those who were responsible for building unsafe homes.We have undertaken extensive work over the last two years to review buildings under 11 metres which have been reported to us as having potential building safety issues. Almost all have proven not to need any intervention following detailed review.In rare cases where remediation work is required in buildings under 11 metres, the Government has retrospectively extended the limitation period under Section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 enabling legal action against developers and contractors where works completed in the last 30 years made a dwelling not “fit for habitation”.These rights include:extending the Defective Premises Act to 30 years retrospectively, so compensation can be sought from developers where homes have not been built to the appropriate standard and are not fit for habitation; and,civil claims where products have caused or contributed to a dwelling being ‘not fit for habitation’.

Urban Areas: Newton-le-Willows

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 5.140 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, when plans to publish details of funding for Newton-Le-Willows.

Jacob Young: The Prime Minister’s Long Term Plan for Towns will see up to £20 million of funding and support from the Government for Newton-Le-Willows over the next decade. I wrote to the Member for St Helen’s North and the Leader and Chief Executive of St Helen’s Borough Council on 19 March 2024 setting out next steps for developing the Long Term Plan for their town. This included details of the funding that will be provided for Newton-Le-Willows.

Urban Areas: Tree Planting

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase potential opportunities for planting in National Planning Policy Framework street design.

Lee Rowley: The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that trees have an important role to play in the design of new development, not only to improve the character and quality of our urban environment but also to help address the challenges of climate change. The Framework therefore encourages that tree planting is incorporated in new developments, including as part of street design, and that their long-term maintenance is secured.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Research: Finance

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to research projects based in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) the North West and (c) the UK in the last 12 months.

Andrew Griffith: In the 12 months leading to the start of January 2024, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded:None to organisations located in St Helens North constituency during this period;£264m to organisations performing research projects in the North West of England£4.9bn to organisations performing research projects in the UK.These figures include a range of investments made via UKRI’s Research Councils and Innovate UK, but the figure excludes formula-based block grants deployed through universities which will also have gone to research projects in this region.

Public Telephones

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of public phone boxes were removed in (a) Liverpool and (b) England in (i) 2023, (ii) 2022, (ii) 2021, (iv) 2020 and (v) 2019.

Julia Lopez: Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, is responsible for the regulation of public call boxes (PCBs). Under the telephony universal service obligation (USO), communication providers (CPs) such as BT and KCOM are required to provide telephony services throughout the UK, including PCBs. Ofcom have told us that they do not hold data on the number of PCBs removed by city or country. In June 2022, Ofcom amended the rules regarding the removal of PCBs. Ofcom removed the local veto process and replaced it with a set of strengthened criteria which would ensure PCBs that are still needed are protected from removal. In this way, the removal of PCBs would become more efficient, while protecting the public’s needs. These criteria protect PCBs where: they do not have coverage from all four mobile network providers; orare located in an area with a high frequency of accidents or suicides; orthey have made 52 or more calls over the past 12 months (i.e. the equivalent of one call per week); orthere is other evidence of a reasonable need for the PCB, for example, if it is likely to be relied upon in the event of a local emergency, such as flooding, or if it is used to call helplines. If a public call box that is the last at a site does not meet any of these four criteria, CPs can consult with the relevant local authority on removing it. CPs must still take account of any views and evidence received from this consultation before deciding whether to remove the box. Public call boxes that are not the last at a site can be removed by BT and KCOM without consultation.

Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage: Research

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much her Department has spent on research into carbon capture utilisation and storage in each (a) research institution and (b) science and technology cluster in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland in the last three years.

Andrew Griffith: UK Research and Innovation has a list of research in carbon capture and storage by area. It is available at https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOChooseTTS.aspx?Mode=ResearchArea&ItemDesc=Carbon+Capture+and+Storage

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to prohibit the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in Marine Protected Areas.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban fishing using bottom trawling apparatus in marine protected areas.

Mark Spencer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon, on 22 January 2024, PQ UIN 9706. A byelaw restricting the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in 13 Marine Protected Areas mentioned in that answer came into force on 22 March 2024.

Agriculture: Nature Conservation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help farmers secure long term private finance for nature restoration.

Mark Spencer: As we set out in our Agricultural Transition Plan update in January, we want farmers and land managers to be able to confidently and securely access payments from both the public and private sector for the environmental benefits they produce. The Government is:supporting farmer-led innovation through Round 3 of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund and two rounds of Landscape Recovery. These schemes will further test how nature markets and private investment can work with public funds and provide examples of how farmers can access both sources of income and deliver more for the environment.developing standards for high integrity private investment into nature through the BSI nature investment standards programme.committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund, which will unlock significant private investment into UK nature projects (e.g. tree planting) that can provide a return on investment.designing the environmental land management offer to make it easier for farmers to identify what private sector income they can access alongside any public payments.helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; for example, Defra supported the Green Finance Institute to develop a Farming Toolkit for Assessing Nature Market Opportunities, which was published in January.exploring with industry representatives ways to provide clarity on the taxation of nature markets. We published an update on 12 March on progress to implement other measures in the Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on specific steps and interventions needed to support growth of high integrity carbon and nature markets in the coming months.

Department for Transport

Large Goods Vehicles: Europe

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the roads good vehicles travelling to Europe statistics for April 2023 to March 2024; and when this series will conclude.

Guy Opperman: The Road Goods Travelling to Europe statistical series is currently undergoing a quality review due to a potential supplier data issue. We are working with our data supplier to assess this issue, and updates to this statistical series will resume once the matter has been resolved. Dates for future publications will be communicated via our release calendar (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/statistics) as soon as possible. There are no immediate plans to cease this statistical series, and any future variation would be consulted on as per Code of Practice for Statistics.

Ministry of Justice

Question

Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of accommodating young female offenders in all-male young offender institutions on the wellbeing of those female offenders.

Edward Argar: The safety of all those in our custodial estate, including young female offenders is a key priority.Girls currently make up less than 1% of children and young people within the youth estate which has a range of mixed gender settings. In HMYOI Wetherby, girls live separately from boys but attend education and activities together, as occurs in the community.Girls in the youth estate can communicate trauma-related stress through internalising behaviours such as self-harming. Professionals work hard to deliver effective care.The YCS is further developing gender-responsive guidance and training both at HMYOI Wetherby and for the wider youth estate.

Question

Mr Louie French: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase prison capacity.

Edward Argar: The Government is currently delivering 10,000 new prison places by the end of 2025 and have a long-term commitment to build 20,00 places overall, which is the largest prison building programme in Britain since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two brand new modern and secure prisons. A third prison will open next year, and two more have planning permission; as a result, the total number of prison places is significantly higher than in 2010 and will rise further.Meanwhile, with a new prisoner transfer agreement with Albania and expansion of the Early Removal Scheme, strong and decisive action is being taken to drive down the number of Foreign National Offenders in our prisons.

Offenders: Asylum

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17782 on Asylum, how many asylum seekers were charged with a criminal offence since entering the UK in each year since 2015.

Edward Argar: I refer the right honourable Member to the answer given by the Home Office to Question 17782, published on 19 March 2024 and subsequently corrected on 21 March 2024. Data on charges is held by the police and published by the Home Office.

Question

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to help increase the retention rate of staff in HM Prison and Probation Service.

Edward Argar: Safe, decent, rehabilitative prisons require excellent and experienced staff, as does supervising offenders in the community to keep the public safe.We want them to stay in the Prison Service and to support retention, we have:Accepted every penny of the Prisons Service PRB pay recommendations for 2023/24.Injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to support Probation staff to deliver more robust supervision.Rolled out BWV to every officer, to help protect staff by defusing volatile situations.Introduced a New Colleague Mentor scheme to help new recruits feel supported in their early weeks and months.Retention for prison officers is improving, with the staff resignation rate dropping from around 10.7% to around 8.3% over the last year to December 2023.

Probation: Resignations

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of new probation officers left the service within a year of joining in each year since 2014.

Edward Argar: A considerable majority of Probation Officers first join the Probation Service as Trainee Probation Officers. During their time as a trainee, they will spend around 15-21 months training before potentially taking up a post as a Band 4 Probation Officer. As a result of this trainee pipeline, there will only be new Probation Officers with less than one year in the Probation Service if they joined the service as a qualified Probation Officer and then left within 12 months.Retention of Probation staff is a priority for the service. A national standardised approach to exit interviews has been implemented to better understand the key drivers of attrition and feedback from these interviews helps shape and determine retention interventions at a local and national level.The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position. The pay increases differ for each job role, but to provide an example Probation Officers will see their starting salary rise from £30,208 in 2021/22 to £35,130 by 2024/25.The table below shows only those Probation Officers who joined the service as qualified Probation Officers and so will not include any Probation Officers who joined as trainees (who will all have been in the service for longer than a year by the time they qualify as a Probation Officer). The Probation Service unified in June 2021, bringing together the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies. As a result, figures pre- and post-June 2021 are not comparable because of the change in the workforce makeup. Table 1 - Number of Band 4 Probation Officer joiners to HMPPS and those who left HMPPS within 1 year: 2022-2023YearAll joinersStaff who left within 1 year20224232023445

Prisoners' Release: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps HM Prison and Probation Service take to ensure prisoners released on end of custody supervised licence can continue to access drug addiction treatment programs when they are released from prison.

Edward Argar: We know that supporting offenders to engage in drug and alcohol treatment is vital to reduce reoffending and we are working with health partners on a range of interventions to strengthen continuity of care for prison leavers. We have recruited over 50 Health and Justice Co-ordinators nationwide to improve links between prison and community treatment services, procured 650 laptops to enable prisoners to speak to community treatment providers before release and we are rolling out the Probation Notification Actioning Project (PNAP) which will make probation aware of prison leavers who have been referred to community treatment so probation can support continued engagement.The lower-level offenders released on ECSL will have a release plan put together by probation, and where appropriate this release plan will include access to drug and alcohol treatment. It remains at the discretion of the prison service to block or delay the ECSL release of any prisoners where doing so would result in losing access to essential services such as drug and alcohol treatment.

Prison Accommodation

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) locations and (b) number of places per location of all planned prison places.

Edward Argar: To date, we have delivered c.5,900 places. This includes our two new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total. This will include our third new prison, HMP Millsike, delivering c.1,500 places, new houseblocks at HMPs Stocken and Rye Hill, as well as hundreds more Rapid Deployment Cells.Under current plans, we are scheduled to deliver at the following sites from 21 March 2024:ProgrammeSitePlacesNew PrisonsHMP Millsike1,468Garth Wymott 2*1,715Gartree 21,715Grendon 21,468HMP Gartree Houseblock **247HMP Fosse Way Houseblock245Private prisons – houseblockHMP Rye Hill458HMP Parc**320HouseblocksHMP Bullingdon247HMP Channings Wood494HMP Elmley247HMP Hindley494HMP Highpoint741HMP Wayland121HMP Guys Marsh180HMP Stocken214RefurbishmentsHMP Birmingham301HMP Norwich171HMP Liverpool350***Rapid Deployment CellsHMP Erlestoke40HMP Foston Hall40HMP The Verne40HMP Northumberland60HMP Springhill40HMP Kirklevington Grange153HMP Prescoed80Category DHMP Hatfield60HMP Leyhill **240HMP Springhill **180HMP Sudbury120HMP Ford **420HMP Standford Hill **240Small Secure HouseblocksHMP Brinsford120HMP Humber120HMP Lancaster Farms240HMP Morton Hall60HMP Northumberland240HMP Onley180HMP Ranby120HMP Erlestoke180 * This site is subject to an ongoing planning appeal.** Delivery at these sites is subject to planning permission.*** A wing-by-wing refurbishment is ongoing, with some places already delivered.Any additional sites not listed here are commercially sensitive and information released about these would prejudice the department’s negotiating position and ability to achieve value for money in these developments.

Secure Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of moving children from youth offenders institutes into secure children homes.

Edward Argar: The youth secure estate currently has three distinct types of establishments: young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres and secure children’s homes (SCHs). We will also open a Secure School this spring, which is also a registered SCH. This enables the Youth Custody Service (YCS) to make placements that are best suited to the needs of the individual child or young person. SCHs accommodate boys and girls aged between 10 and 17 who have complex needs. These placements can be made by local authorities. In addition, children and young people who have been sentenced or remanded to custody may be placed by the YCS in eight of the 14 SCHs in England and Wales. A SCH can decline to accept a placement if it feels it is not able to meet the needs of the individual child, or if accepting the placement would inhibit its ability to meet the needs of other children already accommodated at the home.The YCS Placement Team considers each child’s placement on a case-by-case basis. It reviews information provided by the child’s Youth Offending Team, looking at the child’s needs, as well as any possible risks to, or originating with the child. The team will also try to consider geographical location and proximity to home as part of their decision making, though other factors may take precedence in terms of decision making. This evidence, together with the child’s immediate presentation following the court appearance, is considered in order to identify a placement that will meet the best interests of the child.Children and young people are likely to be more suited to one type of accommodation than another. For example, a SCH placement could be more suitable for children with a lower level of maturity, or with complex needs that require a higher level of support; a YOI placement might be considered appropriate where the young person has been observed to pose a risk towards peers and/or members of staff, or needs to access a specific programme or programmes provided at the YOI.

Convictions: Young People

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions of young people there were in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Preston in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the trend in the number of such convictions.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice holds information on convictions by age group and Police Force Area, covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.The tool linked above will allow you to select particular age groups of interest through the age group filter, and areas of the country through the police force area filter.It is not possible to separately identify all convictions in Preston courts specifically, as those at magistrates’ courts in Preston are counted within the wider geographical area of Lancashire outlined in the first part of the question. Figures for the rest of 2023 will be available in the next update of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly publication, expected in May 2024.The Ministry of Justice has not carried out any recent location-specific assessment of on how our policies have influenced the trend in the number of children convicted since 2019 in Preston, Lancashire and the North West. However, there has been analysis of the broader national trend, which is a fall in the overall number of children entering the criminal justice system more generally in recent years. Since 2012, the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system has declined by 72%. This can be attributed to a number of drivers. These include changes to policing and criminal justice practices intended to increase police discretion to divert children who had committed low-level offences from the formal justice system, prevention programmes to support vulnerable families and Youth Offending Teams undertaking prevention work with children perceived to be at risk of offending.

Domestic Abuse: Convictions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for domestic abuse there have been in the last 12 months.

Laura Farris: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.However, it is not possible to separately identify convictions for ‘domestic abuse’ because the information held centrally is related to the offence in law for which a defendant is convicted for. Domestic abuse related offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of legally defined offences. This information may be held on court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Ministry of Justice: Written Questions

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Questions 3012, 3013, 3020, 3022, 3028, 3030, 3032, 3033, 3034, 3035, 3036, 3037, 3038, 3040, 3041 and 3043, which were tabled on 21 November 2023.

Gareth Bacon: The Ministry of Justice attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and the Department remains committed to providing the highest level of service.I sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to these PQs. The information requested in these PQs is detailed and complex, and we have been working hard to identify what information we can provide to accurately answer the questions raised. We hope to be able to provide an answer shortly

Crimes of Violence: Convictions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for aggravated assault there have been in the last 12 months.

Gareth Bacon: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences, including various assault offences, covering the time period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.Information relating to aggravating factors for assault offences is only available centrally where this forms a specific offence in legislation, including those listed below. Information on other aggravating factors may be held on court records but to examine individual court records to identify all aggravated assaults would be of disproportionate costs.8.06 Racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm8.07 Racially or religiously aggravated common assault or beating

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Carbon Emissions

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of his Department's contribution to the Government's total carbon emissions in the last 12 months.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) assesses carbon emissions at the end of the Financial Year. (FY) Once the data has been gathered for FY 2023-24 the breakdown of the Department's carbon emissions will be published as part of the MOD Annual Report and Accounts. In the last published Greening Government Commitment Report MOD emissions made up 53.7% of the total Government emissions.

Ministry of Defence: Renewable Energy

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of the energy used by his Department is from renewable sources.

James Cartlidge: In financial year (FY) 2022-23 1.2% of Ministry of Defence (MOD) electricity consumption was generated directly from renewable sources. The majority of MOD electricity supply comes from the National Grid, of which a sizable proportion is generated from renewable sources. The proportion of renewable sources used in the National Grid varies but based on Government figures published for the UK in December 2023, renewable generation reached 44.5%.MOD's energy consumption figures are published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts (ARAC).

Warships: Fires

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many fires broke out on Royal Navy warships in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022, (d) 2023 and (e) 2024 as of 19 March 2024.

James Cartlidge: The table below shows the numbers of fires that have broken out on Royal Navy warships since 2020. YearNumber of reported fires2020242021232022192023242024 (as of 22 March 2024)5  All of the fires listed were considered minor and were extinguished by first responder firefighters.

HMS Queen Elizabeth: Fires

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Royal Navy is taking to (a) assess the cause of the fire on HMS Queen Elizabeth on 8 March 2024 and (b) prevent future fires on ships.

James Cartlidge: An investigation is underway to establish the cause of the fire onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on 8 March 2024. This will seek to identify any appropriate lessons that can be implemented in future instances of this nature.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of recruitment and retention strategies for armed forces personnel in (a) the UK and (B) other NATO countries.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).Armed Forces: Recruitment (docx, 15.6KB)

Defence Equipment & Support: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the weapons support team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the complex weapons delivery team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the complex weapons portfolio team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the weapons engineering team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the weapons support future enterprise team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employed within the complex weapons delivery, complex weapons portfolio, weapons engineering and weapons support future enterprise teams in each Financial Year (FY) since 2019 as at 31 March, is detailed in the table below. The figures include civilian and military employees and workforce substitutes. Figures for 2023-24 will not be available until the end of the FY. Financial YearComplex Weapons DeliveryComplex Weapons PortfolioWeapons EngineeringFuture Enterprise2018-19Team did not exist21.33115.46Team did not exist2019-204.0021.22126.94Team did not exist2020-215.0012.00119.6812.112021-225.0014.81132.2524.032022-2318.6512.65130.2530.89 Note: The numbers employed in the Weapons Support team is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence Equipment & Support: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the soldier training and special projects team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employed in the Soldier Training and Special Projects team in each Financial Year (FY) since 2019 as at 31 March, is detailed in the table below. The figures include civilian and military employees, and workforce substitutes. Figures for 2023-24 will not be available until the end of the FY. Financial YearSoldier Training and Special Projects team2018-19235.42019-20251.82020-21220.92021-22270.22022-23291.4

Defence Equipment & Support: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the vehicle support team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employed in the Vehicle Support team in each Financial Year (FY) since 2019 as at 31 March, is detailed in the table below. The figures include civilian and military employees, and workforce substitutes. Figures for 2023-24 will not be available until the end of the FY. Financial YearVehicle Support team2018-19272.92019-20296.02020-21247.82021-22379.52022-23385.0

Defence Equipment & Support: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the fires, infrastructure and manoeuvre support team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employed in the Fires, Infrastructure and Manoeuvre Support team in each Financial Year (FY) since 2019 as at 31 March, is detailed in the table below. The figures include civilian and military employees, and workforce substitutes. Figures for 2023-24 will not be available until the end of the FY. Financial YearFires, Infrastructure and Manoeuvre Support team2018-1988.22019-2088.92020-2193.32021-22113.02022-23113.4

Defence Equipment & Support: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed in the future and common support services team at Defence Equipment and Support in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The Future and Common Support Services team did not stand up until the 2023-24 Financial Year and the data for this year will not be available until the end of the Financial Year.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Gen Kitchen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of armed forces recruitment and retention.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).Armed Forces: Recruitment (docx, 15.6KB)

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Payments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made a recent estimate of the total cost to (a) consumers and (b) the Exchequer of issuing curtailment payments to energy companies in the last 12 months.

Graham Stuart: The System Operator is responsible for managing constraints on the networks. It does this by curtailing a type of generation, for example wind, and turning up an alternative generation, as needed. Costs are funded through electricity bills, not through the Exchequer. Annual network constraint costs for 2023 were £1.4bn (2023 prices). To manage the level of constraints on the system and ensure the UK's homes can be powered by clean, green energy in future, government is working with Ofgem, network owners and others to halve the build process from 14 years to 7 through our Transmission Acceleration Action Plan.

Renewable Energy: Community Development

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero during Consideration of Lords message on the Energy Bill [Lords] on 18 October 2023, Official Report, column 352, when she plans to publish the consultation on barriers to developing community energy projects.

Graham Stuart: We have been codesigning the consultation on the barriers to community energy schemes with the Community Energy Contact Group. We intend to publish the consultation as soon as possible.